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Friday, June 8, 2012

McCall's 6503 and a Cat Bed for Henry!

I made a dress and a cat bed! I'm really more excited about the cat bed, can we talk about that first?

My mom gave me this pattern a couple years ago. It's Simplicity 9065, now out of print. (But available here and elsewhere on the web!)

I finally made it up last weekend, thinking that little Henry Higgins needed a place to hang out in my sewing room. I was very proud of it, and then a little disappointed when he ignored it. But lo and behold! This morning I walked into the room and what did I see?

How cute is that?

And this?

I'm so pleased he likes it! He spent all morning there. I made it in a simple blue ticking stripe. Very masculine, don't you think?

Okay, the dress!

It's McCall's 6503, View A, and made with another fabulous Ascher print I got at Paron's. (They have more! Call them and tell 'em Gertie sent you. They're quite familiar with me by now! 212-768-3266)

I loved the pattern itself. Simple, slightly 40s inspired, and super cute in the ruffle version. It's one of those easy breezy summer dresses that you find yourself reaching for all the time.

I wore it out to dinner last night.

I added my own little design feature: a tiny pocket!

The easiest way to make a pocket like this is to cut out a template--without seam allowances--from a sturdy paper. I used an old manilla folder. Cut the fabric out with the template, leaving about 1/4" on the sides and bottom, and 5/8" on top. Press the seam allowances over the template, so they're turned in crisply. Topstitch the hem at the top of the pocket. Apply to your dress by edgestitching. That's it!

This dress has no linings, just a neckline facing and bindings around the armholes. I went old-school and pinked my seam allowances.

59 comments:

Love the dress (and the cat bed!). I bought some of this fabric in a different colorway from Fabric Mart (I think it's something like $8/yd there now). I had a terrible customer service experience at Paron's yesterday, unfortunately I don't think I'll be going back. It's too bad, because they really do have beautiful fabric.

Gertie, I love your blog! I have a question (and you may have answered this many times before)... how many hours a day do you sew?? You get so much accomplished. I am imagining you consider this your "job." I was just wondering... I love this dress and your cat bed. I have the same pattern but never made it. Our yellow lab, darling Tessapoo left us after 12 wonderful years. I don't have a reason to make it now :-(

I seriously need to make a larger version of the cat bed for my newly adopted beagle, who at 18 pounds probably doesn't weight all that much more than most cats, lol.

Melodye, condolences on the loss of your poochie. ((hugs)) We lost our 13-year-old beagle to lymphoma in December. We knew we'd want another beagle, after an appropriate mourning period. Brownie can't be replaced, but rescuing another homeless dog seemed like a good way to honor her memory. And sweet little Willow has helped heal the heartache.

Aah, I have that dress pattern. It's confidence-inspiring seeing more people sew it, there were very few blogs of it when I first bought it (even despite being featured on The Sew Weekly) I'm looking forward to getting the chance to make it up now!

I never would have considered that pattern based on the envelope (and I'm usually pretty good at looking past the photos to the line drawings). Your dress is beautiful; it looks great on you and I love that fabric!

I love the idea of a cat bed but to be honest... I kind of like it when my cat lounges across my sewing machine :) I pretend that it annoys me but that's a lieeee! If I made her a bed, she'd leave my machine alone & then I'd feel so lonely haha.

I am in the middle of making this very view! It's a lovely summer dress. I am using the facings, but also lining the bodice with cotton batiste just because my cotton is rather light, and lining the skirt with rayon Bemberg from my stash. Your print is beautiful - and your cat looks very happy!

I love how genuinely cozy animals look in pet-bed ads. I mean, duh--that's the point, but it really cracks me up.

And it never takes pets long to find the most comfortable spot in the room, does it? We had a problem with our white, long-haired, dog sleeping in my mother's brand-new, dark-green, plush chairs . . . until we got her her own sheepskin dog bed. It was just like the chairs only she didn't have to climb into it. We never had to shoo her off the furniture again.

What a fantastic dress! I love the little ruffles around the collar. I've been wanting to make a bed or beds for my dog and two cats, but I'm afraid they'll be uninterested after I spend hours on them. Plus three pet beds would take up half my sewing space!

I love the way it turned out! The pattern of the fabric is lovely. I actually considered buying that dress pattern at the fabric store today, too! I just started my sewing blog, check it out if your interested!

Love the cat bed, I made one for my dog and she did the same thing, I was so relieved when she decided it was ok and started to use it. The dress is lovely, I bet you were the best dressed at the restaurant. I also wanted to mention that my Hobby Lobby has Simplicity patters for 99 cents next week. I had not been in years, but I recently discovered a new Hobby Lobby built last year. It may be the new location but it seems like they've improved their sewing and fabric section. And you can't beat 99 cents.

SO cute!You know, it would be interesting to hear your views on photography, regarding cameras. I loved your articles on Bernina, your dream driermachine, or your iron.. what about the pictures? they are gorgeous! and as the little blogger that I am, well... some learning in that area would be super!Cheers!

I'm so excited about that cat bed, but Quincy likes to "sleep around" (the floozy). She just likes to switch up her sleeping spots all the time, so even if she tried it out for a couple of nights, she'd be somewhere else within the week and I'd be sad. Henry looks so cuper cute on that one though, so maybe I'll give it a go anyway?

Oh, that's a great cat bed! We MacGyvered one for our cat out of a semicircle wood basket (placed on the flat side), which we then lined top and bottom with cheap fleece blankets, cable-tied to the top. More blankets draped over the top and covering some of the front make it a super-cosy bed in the winter (our house is not warm) - but it took him months to deign to use it!

Hi, love this and every other dress you've made and posted. Your blog has inspired me to sew. I found your blog 2 1/2 weeks ago, since then I've made 2 skirts, 1 pair of pants, attempted a top and made a dress. I have a sewing buddy who is helping me out. I've never sown before, but I want to try. Thanks for being out there. I hope you are well and are forever happy. MissElaineous

I just discovered your blog on a search for couture techniques while making my wedding dress. I went back and read every entry and wanted to thank you for your enthusiasm and fun writing. It has really inspired me to take my sewing a little (a lot) farther than I have before. I am looking forward to keeping up with the blog on a regular basis (now that I am caught up).

I love that dress! The print reminds me one of the muumuus my grandmother brought back from Hawaii when she went there in the late 70s. The yellow one was for my aunt! Mine was pink, purple, and green!

What a well-trained cat, mine would never sit on something I've made specifically for her. A dress that I'm just about to wear, on the other hand, is the perfect cat bed for her...Oh, and love your dress too, of course, just got distracted by Henry...